Kai slept for over a day.

While his consciousness had shut off, his mutant body hadn't rested in the slightest. It worked tirelessly behind the scenes, straining to stitch muscle, regenerate nerves, and flush out whatever lingering damage had been left behind from the hell he'd been dragged through.

He hadn't eaten nearly enough. He was low on blood. His energy reserves were basically non-existent. But mutant abilities didn't abide by the laws of physics, and somehow, his body kept pushing.

Burnt skin had started to peel off in reddish flakes, revealing fresh, tender flesh beneath. Scabs tightened and flaked away. The bruising that had covered most of his torso and ribs had faded to a dull yellow. His limbs were still heavy, his back still sore, but compared to the agony he'd endured under Nyx's hands, he felt…

Great.

Groggy, sore, and half-dead - but great.

A groan escaped his throat as he stirred. Every joint cracked as he slowly sat up, body stiff and unwilling, but at least he was moving. He blinked blearily in the low light of the cabin, struggling to shake off the lingering shadows of the dark urges that had clung to him in his sleep, violent dreams that only seemed to grow louder every night.

But something pulled him out of it.

Something primal.

He could smell… food?

Kai's eyes shot open. His stomach roared like a beast.

The scent wafting through the cracks in the wooden cabin walls was enough to drive him feral - rich, smoky, and sizzling.

'Meat!'

Without another thought, he hauled himself to his feet and put on some of Takeshi's clothes. He stumbled once before regaining balance and shoved open the door.

Outside, the night had fully settled in. Stars glittered above the forest clearing, and the soft crackle of fire broke the silence of the mountain air.

The others were gathered around a small campfire, a lazy orange glow licking up into the dark. At the centre, mounted over the flames on a slowly turning thick stick, was a roasted animal, its torso charred to perfection, golden and crisp.

'A boar, maybe? Or something similar.'

Kai didn't care.

It looked edible, and that was all he needed.

Without a word, he shuffled over and joined the others.

They looked up in surprise, especially Amina, who had half-expected him to be bedridden for longer, even with his innate healing. Nadya raised a brow. Even Sven tilted his head slightly. They were doing better now, thanks in no small part to Amina's steady healing, but Kai? He looked like a different person.

Unbothered. Unshaken. Like everything that had happened was just an average Tuesday.

Takeshi was the only one who didn't react, already chewing quietly on a piece of meat.

Kai dropped down by the fire, reaching for a leg that looked more cooked than the rest. He gave it a brief glance, just to confirm it was dead and crispy, then shrugged.

'Looks cooked enough to me.'

He bit in.

Juice burst into his mouth. Grease ran down his chin. Smoke hissed from between his teeth, but he didn't even flinch.

He devoured the leg like a starving beast, then moved on to another piece. And another. Within minutes, he'd eaten almost half the damn thing - most of what Takeshi had hunted and butchered, judging by the approving nod the man gave him.

No one stopped him.

He needed it. Badly.

They watched in silence, letting him eat, and for a moment, there was nothing but the quiet crackling of fire and the distant sound of wind rustling through the trees.

Kai let out a deep breath as he finished off another chunk of meat, eyes flicking lazily toward the flames.

'I don't remember much about my life before the facility… but it feels like nothing can faze me anymore.'

He genuinely didn't feel much of anything, aside from a lingering desire for blood and death, which he'd grown used to.

Eventually, they started talking - low voices, shared glances, murmured reflections on everything that had gone down. There were still things to process. Still wounds that hadn't fully healed.

But they stayed up late that night, basking in the warmth, resting in the silence, and finally feeling something close to normal again.

The stars spun overhead.

And for once… nothing came to kill them.

But the peace and quiet didn't last long...

-

That night, under the blanket of stars and crackling firelight, the silence broke - not with danger or dread, but with something unexpected...

Laughter.

It started with a whisper, low and conspiratorial, from none other than Kai, his stomach bulging ridiculously after gorging himself like a starved wolf.

"Let's see who can take Takeshi's blindfold off," he murmured to Sven, who was lounging beside him with a half-eaten skewer still in his mouth.

Sven blinked, then smirked. "I'm in."

Kai grinned. "He's not blind. He can't be. I bet he's got, like… three eyes under there or something."

"Or one big cyclops eye," Sven added with a snort.

The two of them devolved into quiet snickers, huddled like schoolboys plotting mischief behind the teacher's back. Before long, Nadya leaned in, eyes narrowing.

"What are you two whispering about?"

Kai turned with a devilish glint. "Wanna see what Takeshi's hiding under that blindfold?"

She didn't even hesitate. "Absolutely."

The 'game' passed around the fire like a round of Chinese whispers, minus one crucial player - Takeshi.

He remained cross-legged by the fire, still as a statue, his long, silky black hair flowing behind him in the breeze like he belonged in a damn anime intro. Unbothered. Unmoving. Unreachable.

But not for long.

As Sven made the first move, crouching low like a ninja and creeping toward the blindfolded swordsman, a sudden gust of wind burst outward from Takeshi's position.

In a flash, he was gone.

Sven stumbled back, startled. "What the-?"

Kai was already up on his feet, grinning widely. "He dodged! He heard us?"

Takeshi floated backwards through the air, coat fluttering dramatically as he flipped once and landed with effortless grace on the branch of a nearby tree, perched like a black-feathered bird of death.

"You've got to be kidding me," Nadya muttered.

"Today's the day I see what's under there," she then declared, pointing a finger like a challenger in an old martial arts flick.

For a split second, the night fell still again.

Then...

"Get him!" Kai yelled, breaking the silence.

And just like that, the peaceful forest clearing exploded into chaos.

Sven darted first, followed by Kai with zero hesitation. Nadya was hot on their heels, cracking her knuckles mid-run.

Takeshi simply tilted his head.

Then vanished into the trees.

What followed was a mutant-grade game of tag: leaps that shattered branches, bursts of speed that tore up the grass, and laughter echoing through the quiet mountain air. The fire flickered behind them, forgotten, as the night became alive with chasing feet and childish chaos.

No one caught him.

Not even close.

But no one cared.

Because they had fun, and it took their minds off of what they had just experienced. And the game was far from over...

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